Lighting apparatus of autonomous vehicle

ABSTRACT

A lighting apparatus of an autonomous vehicle may include: a roof formed at the top of a vehicle; a lighting unit installed on the roof, and configured to display an autonomous driving status of the vehicle to the outside; and a control unit configured to vary a lighting status of the lighting unit according to the autonomous driving status of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the presentapplication are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus of an autonomousvehicle, and more particularly, to a lighting apparatus of an autonomousvehicle, which can enable a pedestrian and another vehicle to recognizea driving status of the autonomous vehicle.

In general, autonomous driving technology is divided into five levels.Autonomous driving level 0 indicates that a human driver directlycontrols all tasks required for driving, and corresponds to a vehiclewhich is not related to the autonomous driving technology. Autonomousdriving level 1 indicates that a human driver selectively controls thespeed and direction of a vehicle using cameras and sensors such as acruise control system, lane departure warning system and collisionwarning system. Autonomous driving level 2 indicates that a vehicletravels by itself in a specific situation and adjusts speed to maintaina distance from a vehicle in front.

Autonomous driving level 3 indicates that intervention of a human driveris further reduced and a vehicle can sense and avoid an obstacle byitself or bypass a road when the vehicle is stuck in traffic. Autonomousdriving level 4 indicates that a human driver may only set a destinationand a system of a vehicle monitors the entire driving section andperforms safety-related functions by itself. Autonomous driving level 5corresponds to an autonomous vehicle which moves without a human driver.

A vehicle accident may be prevented when a pedestrian recognizes avehicle around the pedestrian and avoids the vehicle, or prevented bythe forward looking ability or steering ability of a vehicle driver.However, since the intervention of a driver is significantly reducedduring autonomous driving of a vehicle, a technique for allowing apedestrian to recognize the operation status of the vehicle more clearlyis required to secure the safety of the pedestrian.

The related art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean PatentPublication No. 2012-0072020 published on Jul. 3, 2012 and entitled“driving information recognition method and apparatus for autonomoussystem”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a lightingapparatus of an autonomous vehicle, which can enable a pedestrian andanother vehicle to recognize a driving status of the autonomous vehicle.

In one embodiment, a lighting apparatus of an autonomous vehicle mayinclude: a roof formed at the top of a vehicle; a lighting unitinstalled on the roof, and configured to display an autonomous drivingstatus of the vehicle to the outside; and a control unit configured tovary a lighting status of the lighting unit according to the autonomousdriving status of the vehicle.

The control unit may include: a first lighting mode for controlling thelighting unit to irradiate light in first color when the vehicleautonomously moves; and a second lighting mode for controlling thelighting unit to irradiate light in second color when the vehicleautonomously stops.

The control unit may include a third lighting mode for controlling thelighting unit to irradiate light in a different manner from the firstand second lighting modes, when the vehicle is switched from theautonomous stop to the autonomous driving.

In the third lighting mode, the control unit may control the lightingunit to flicker in the first or second color, or sequentially turn on aplurality of light sources installed in the lighting unit.

The control unit may further include a fourth lighting mode for turningoff the lighting unit when the autonomous driving mode of the vehicle iscanceled.

The lighting unit may be disposed at the front left end, front rightend, rear left end and rear right end of the roof to secure visibilityin all directions.

The lighting unit may include an extended lighting unit formed at one ormore of the front, rear, left side and right side of the roof so as tobe extended in a horizontal direction.

The lighting unit may be disposed at a height of 1,200 mm or more fromthe ground.

The lighting apparatus may further include a sensor unit installed onthe roof, disposed on the same horizontal or vertical line as thelighting unit, and configured to sense a driving condition orsurrounding situation of the vehicle.

The lighting unit may have a lighting region overlapping a monitoringregion of the sensor unit.

The sensor unit may include: a plurality of LiDARs (Light Detection AndRanging) installed in multiple directions and configured to detect anobject around the vehicle and sense a distance to the object; and aplurality of cameras installed in multiple directions and configured tosense the surrounding situation of the vehicle as images.

The lighting unit may include: a light source; an external lighting lensinstalled toward the outside of the vehicle; and a beam splitter formedof a transparent material, installed between the light source and theexternal lighting lens, and configured to induce a part of lightirradiated from the light source to the external lighting lens, andinduce the other part of the light to the inside of the vehicle.

The external lighting lens may include: an outer lens exposed to theoutside of the vehicle; and an inner lens installed between the outerlens and the beam splitter.

The external lighting lens may include a color lens configured to colorlight having passed through the beam splitter in preset color.

The external lighting lens may be disposed facing the light source, withthe beam splitter interposed therebetween.

The beam splitter may include: a lighting curtain part formed of a glassmaterial, wherein the light irradiated from the light source is incidenton the lighting curtain part; an exterior light output part formed at aportion of the lighting curtain part, the portion facing the externallighting lens, wherein a part of the light incident on the lightingcurtain part is outputted through the exterior light output part; and aninterior light output part formed at a portion of the lighting curtainpart, the portion facing the inside of the vehicle, wherein the otherpart of the light incident on the lighting curtain part is outputtedthrough the interior light output part.

The interior light output part may include a light output groove formedat the surface of the lighting curtain part such that light which istotally reflected in the lighting curtain part is outputted to theoutside of the lighting curtain part.

In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, the lightingapparatus of the autonomous vehicle may implement the operation ofvarying the lighting status of the lighting unit installed on the roofaccording to the autonomous driving status of the vehicle. Thus, apedestrian and another vehicle around the autonomous vehicle can easilyrecognize the driving status of the autonomous vehicle, and theoperation stability of the autonomous vehicle can be further improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an installation state of a vehicle towhich a lighting apparatus of an autonomous vehicle in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically illustrating the vehicle to whichthe lighting apparatus of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a detailed composition drawing of control unit in accordancewith the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the lightingapparatus of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an installation state of the vehicle to which thelighting apparatus of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention is applied, with no roof illustratedtherein.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Hereafter, a lighting apparatus of an autonomous vehicle in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that thedrawings are not to precise scale and may be exaggerated in thickness oflines or sizes of components for descriptive convenience and clarityonly. Furthermore, the terms as used herein are defined by takingfunctions of the invention into account and can be changed according tothe custom or intention of users or operators. Therefore, definition ofthe terms should be made according to the overall disclosures set forthherein.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an installation state of a vehicle towhich a lighting apparatus of an autonomous vehicle in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a sideview schematically illustrating the vehicle to which the lightingapparatus of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention is applied.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a lighting apparatus 2 of a vehicle 1 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention may include aroof 10, a lighting unit 20, a control unit 30 and a sensor unit 40.

The roof 10 may constitute the top of the vehicle 1. The roof 10 may beformed of an opaque material such as a metallic material or atransparent material such as a glass material. The roof 10 may have acover shape capable of blocking the inside of the vehicle 1 from theoutside, and have a frame shape in which the lighting unit 20 can beinstalled.

The lighting unit 20 for displaying an autonomous driving status of thevehicle 1 as light to the outside of the vehicle 1 may be installed onthe roof 10, and generate and emit light to the outside of the vehicle1. The lighting unit 20 may statically irradiate different colors oflight or three-dimensionally and dynamically irradiate different colorsof light through lighting, flickering or turn-off, depending on thedriving status of the vehicle 1. For example, the driving status of thevehicle 1 may indicate that the vehicle 1 autonomously moves,autonomously stops or switches from the autonomous stop to theautonomous driving, or the autonomous driving mode is canceled.

Referring to FIG. 2, the lighting of the vehicle 1 may be installed invarious manners across an indication lighting zone Z1 and acommunication lighting zone Z2. The indication lighting zone Z1 may beformed at a height of 1,200 mm or more from the ground, and thecommunication lighting zone Z2 may be formed at a height of more than550 mm to less than 1,200 mm.

That is, the communication lighting zone Z2 may be formed under theindication lighting zone Z1.

The roof 10 may be disposed at the top of the vehicle 1 so as to belongto the indication lighting zone Z1, and the lighting unit 20 inaccordance with the embodiment of the present invention may be coupledto the roof 10, and irradiate light on the indication lighting zone Z1such that a pedestrian can recognize the lighting unit 20 at a longdistance of 60 m or more from the vehicle 1. At this time, the lightingunit 20 may have a basic light intensity corresponding to a DRL (DaytimeRunning Light).

The roof 10 constituting the top of the vehicle 1 may include a closedstructure or open structure as long as the structure constitutes atleast a part of the top of the vehicle 1, but is not limited to aspecific structure and shape. The roof 10 may collectively indicateupper structures of the vehicle, which are positioned at a height of1,200 mm from the ground, regardless of the size and height of thevehicle.

FIG. 3 is a detailed composition drawing of control unit in accordancewith the embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 30 may variably control the lighting status of thelighting unit 20 depending on the autonomous driving status of thevehicle 1. Referring to FIG. 3, the control unit 30 may include an inputunit 31, a determination unit 32 and an output unit 33. The input unit31 may receive information on the driving status of the vehicle in realtime, the determination unit 32 may determine a lighting mode accordingto the information received from the input unit 31, and the output unit33 may generate different signals for the lighting unit 20 depending onthe determination of the determination unit 32.

More specifically, when the vehicle 1 autonomously moves, the controlunit 30 may use a first lighting mode that controls the lighting unit 20to irradiate blue-green light in consideration of visibility in both ofthe day and night. Furthermore, when the vehicle 1 autonomously stops toallow a pedestrian to cross a crosswalk or general road, the controlunit 30 may use a second lighting mode that controls the lighting unit20 to irradiate green light.

When the vehicle 1 is switched from the autonomous stop to theautonomous driving or the vehicle 1 starts after the autonomous stop,the control unit 30 may use a third lighting mode that controls thelighting unit 20 to irradiate differently from in the first and secondlighting modes. In the third lighting mode, the control unit 30 maycontrol the lighting unit 20 to flicker a plurality of times (forexample, two times) or sequentially turn on a plurality of light sources21 installed in the lighting unit 20, during a process of turning on thelighting unit 20 to irradiate blue-green light.

When the autonomous driving mode of the vehicle 1 is canceled, thecontrol unit 30 may use a fourth lighting mode that turns off thelighting unit 20. In the fourth lighting mode, a driver may drive thevehicle 1 for himself, and the lighting unit 20 installed on the roof 10of the vehicle 1 may be turned off. In this case, the autonomous vehiclemay operate a lighting system to which the same vehicle-relatedregulations as a general manual vehicle are applied.

In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, the lightingunit 20 may irradiate green or blue light at a light intensitycorresponding to the DRL on the indication lighting zone Z1, the greenor blue light having higher visibility than different colors. Thus, apedestrian or another vehicle around the vehicle 1 can easily recognizethe lighting unit 20, i.e. the autonomous driving status of the vehicle1 even at a long distance of 60 m or more from the vehicle 1. Forreference, lightings for irradiating RGB (Red Green Blue) light may bedisposed on the communication lighting zone Z2, such that differentoperation information of the vehicle may be displayed to a pedestrian oranother vehicle positioned at a short distance of 15 m or less from thevehicle 1.

The sensor unit 40 for sensing traveling conditions or surroundingconditions of the vehicle may be installed on the roof 10 installed atthe top of the vehicle 1, in order to more stably secure and expand asensing region. The sensor unit 40 may be an essential component forimplementing the autonomous driving, and the operable autonomous drivinglevels of the vehicle 1 may differ depending on the specification andnumber of sensor units 40. The sensor unit 40 may include a LiDAR (LightDetection And Ranging) 41, a camera 42, a radar, an ultrasonic sensorand the like.

A plurality of LiDARs 41 may be installed in multiple directions inorder to detect an object A around the vehicle 1 and to sense a distancefrom the object A. For example, the LiDARs 41 may be disposed at fiveplaces including four places corresponding to the front left end, thefront right end, the rear left end and the rear right end (hereafter,referred to as ‘corners’) of the roof 10 and one place corresponding tothe front center, in order to secure a sensing region across the360-degree area around the vehicle 1. A plurality of cameras 42 may beinstalled in multiple directions to sense the surrounding conditions ofthe vehicle 1 as images. For example, 11 cameras 42 may be installed onthe roof 10.

The sensor units 40 may be disposed adjacent to each other on the samehorizontal line as the lighting unit 20, or stacked on the same verticalline, thereby implementing the autonomous driving level 4 or more. Inparticular, the sensor units 40 may be disposed on the same horizontalline and vertical line as the lighting unit 20, while sharing at least apart of the space in which the lighting unit 20 is installed. Thelighting unit 20 may have a hollow portion B formed therein, and thesensor units 40 may be disposed in the hollow portion B of the lightingunit 20. Thus, the installation of the sensor units 40 and the lightingunit 20 may be efficiently performed in terms of the space.

According to such arrangement structures, the monitoring region of thesensor unit 40 and the lighting region of the lighting unit 20 mayoverlap each other. The LiDAR 41 may three-dimensionally image thesurrounding environment through a laser scanning scheme using light, andthe camera 42 may visibly acquire information on the surroundingenvironment in the form of an image. The sensitivities and imagequalities of the LiDAR 41 and the camera 42 may be affected bybrightness, and the use of the LiDAR 41 and the camera 42 may beperformed efficiently in terms of energy, with illumination increased bythe light irradiated by the lighting unit 20.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the lightingapparatus of the autonomous vehicle in accordance with the embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the lighting unit 20 in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention may include a corner lighting unit20A and an extended lighting unit 20B.

The corner lighting unit 20A may be disposed at four corners of the roof10, corresponding to the front left end, the front right end, the rearleft end and the rear right end of the roof 10, and thus securevisibility in 360-degree direction. The extended lighting unit 20B maybe formed at the front, rear, left side and right side of the roof 10 soas to be extended in the horizontal direction, and thus securevisibility in 360-degree direction.

The visibility may be secured in 360-degree direction only through eachof the corner lighting unit 20A and the extended lighting unit 20B.However, when the extended lighting unit 20B is extended in thehorizontal direction between the corner lighting units 20A, thevisibility can be secured more clearly in 360-degree direction.Furthermore, when the third lighting mode or the like is implemented,various types of lighting statuses such as flickering and sequentialturn-on can be implemented.

FIG. 5 illustrates the vehicle to which the lighting apparatus of theautonomous vehicle in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention is applied, with no roof illustrated therein, and FIG. 6 is across-sectional view taken along the line A-A′ of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 6, the lighting unit 20 in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention may include a light source 21, anexternal lighting lens 22 and a beam splitter 25.

The light source 21 may be fixed at a constant position on the roof 10.At this time, a plurality of light sources 21 may be disposed at fourplaces corresponding to the corners of the roof 10 so as to constitutethe corner lighting unit 20A, and successively disposed along the edgeof the roof 10 at preset intervals so as to constitute the extendedlighting unit 20B. A lighting device such as an LED to emit light may beapplied as the light source 21.

The external lighting lens 22 for irradiating light to the outside ofthe vehicle 1 may be installed to face the outside of the vehicle 1. Theexternal lighting lens 22 in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention may include an outer lens 23 and an inner lens 24. Theouter lens 23 constituting the exterior of the vehicle 1 may beinstalled on the roof 10 so as to be exposed to the outside of thevehicle 1.

The inner lens 24 may be installed between the outer lens 23 and thebeam splitter 25. A part of light having passed through the beamsplitter 25 may pass through the inner lens 24, and the light havingpassed through the inner lens 24 may be irradiated in preset color tothe outside of the vehicle 1 through the outer lens 23.

The inner lens 24 may include a color lens which colors the light havingpassed through the beam splitter 25 in preset color. For example, whenthe light source 21 irradiates white light, a green or blue lens may beapplied as the inner lens 24 to create green or blue light. The sensorunit 40 may be installed in a hollow portion B formed between the innerlens 24 and the outer lens 23 or a hollow portion B formed between thebeam splitter 25 and the outer lens 23.

The beam splitter 25 may receive the light irradiated from the lightsource 21, induce a part of the light to the external lighting lens 22,and induce another part of the light to the inside of the vehicle 1. Thebeam splitter 25 may be formed of a light transmitting material, andinstalled between the light source 21 and the external lighting lens 22.The beam splitter 25 in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention may include a lighting curtain part 26, an exterior lightoutput part 27 and an interior light output part 28.

The lighting curtain part 26 may be formed of a plate-shaped glassmember, and disposed between the light source 21 and the inner lens 24.Referring to FIG. 5, the lighting curtain part 26 may be formed of oneglass plate material having a frame shape corresponding to the edge ofthe roof 10. The plurality of light sources 21 may be arranged along theinner edge of the lighting curtain part 26 at preset intervals.

According to the shape of the lighting curtain part 26 and thearrangement structure of the light sources 21, the plurality of lightsources 21 and the lighting curtain part 26 may be reliably assembledand arranged with a preset interval provided therebetween. Therefore, anintended light color, light intensity and light shape can be stablyimplemented in all directions, and the light irradiated from the lightsources 21 arranged in the lighting curtain part 26 inevitably passesthrough the lighting curtain part 26, which makes it possible tominimize a light loss.

The inner lens 24 may be disposed facing the light source 21, with thebeam splitter 25 interposed therebetween. The light irradiated from thelight source 21 may be incident on one end of the lighting curtain part26 in the horizontal direction, and propagate toward the inner lens 24positioned at the other end of the lighting curtain part 26 in thehorizontal direction while passing through the inside of the lightingcurtain part 26.

The light incident on the lighting curtain part 26 may be outputtedtoward the outside of the vehicle 1 through the exterior light outputpart 27, and the exterior light output part 27 may be formed at theother end of the lighting curtain part 26 in the horizontal direction,which faces the inner lens 24. The light incident on the lightingcurtain part 26 may go straight to the exterior light output part 27,and propagate toward the exterior light output part 27 while beingrepeatedly totally reflected with an angle. The light emitted throughthe exterior light output part 27 may sequentially pass through theinner lens 24 and the outer lens 23 so as to be irradiated to theoutside of the vehicle 1.

The interior light output part 28 may be formed at the bottom of thelighting curtain part 26, facing the inside of the vehicle 1, and a partof the light incident on the lighting curtain part 26 may be outputtedthrough the interior light output part 28. The interior light outputpart 28 may have light output grooves 29 formed at the surface of thelighting curtain part 26, such that the light which is being totallyreflected in the lighting curtain part 26 can be outputted to theoutside of the lighting curtain part 26.

The light which is being totally reflected in the lighting curtain part26 may not be totally reflected when meeting the light output groove 29having an inclination angle, instead of the flat reflecting surface, butoutputted to the outside of the lighting curtain part 26 through thesurface of the light output groove 29. By increasing or decreasing thenumber of the light output grooves 29, it is possible to increase ordecrease the area of the interior light output part 28 or the amount oflight outputted to the inside of the vehicle 1 in proportion to thenumber of the light output grooves 29.

In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, the lightingapparatus 2 of the autonomous vehicle 1 may implement the operation ofvarying the lighting status of the lighting unit 20 installed in theroof 10 according to the autonomous driving status of the vehicle 1.Thus, a pedestrian and another vehicle around the autonomous vehicle 1can easily recognize the driving status of the autonomous vehicle 1, andthe operation stability of the autonomous vehicle 1 can be furtherimproved.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed forillustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatvarious modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in theaccompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lighting apparatus of an autonomous vehicle,comprising: a roof formed at a top of a vehicle; a lighting unitinstalled on the roof, and configured to display an autonomous drivingstatus of the vehicle to the an outside; and a control unit configuredto vary a lighting status of the lighting unit according to theautonomous driving status of the vehicle.
 2. The lighting apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the control unit configured to: in a first lightingmode, control the lighting unit to irradiate light in first color whenthe vehicle autonomously moves; and in a second lighting mode, controlthe lighting unit to irradiate light in second color when the vehicleautonomously stops.
 3. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein thecontrol unit is configured to, in a third lighting mode, control thelighting unit to irradiate light in a different manner from the firstand second lighting modes, when the vehicle is switched from theautonomous stop to the autonomous driving.
 4. The lighting apparatus ofclaim 3, wherein in the third lighting mode, the control unit isconfigured to control the lighting unit to flicker in the first orsecond color, or sequentially turn on a plurality of light sourcesinstalled in the lighting unit.
 5. The lighting apparatus of claim 2,wherein the control unit is configured to, in a fourth lighting mode,turn off the lighting unit when an autonomous driving mode of thevehicle is canceled.
 6. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein thelighting unit is disposed at the front left end, front right end, rearleft end and rear right end of the roof to secure visibility in alldirections.
 7. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lightingunit comprises an extended lighting unit formed at one or more of afront, rear, left side and right side of the roof so as to be extendedin a horizontal direction.
 8. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe lighting unit is disposed at a height of 1,200 millimeters or morefrom a ground.
 9. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, further comprisinga sensor unit installed on the roof, disposed on a same horizontal orvertical line as the lighting unit, and configured to sense a drivingcondition or surrounding situation of the vehicle.
 10. The lightingapparatus of claim 9, wherein the lighting unit has a lighting regionoverlapping a monitoring region of the sensor unit.
 11. The lightingapparatus of claim 9, wherein the sensor unit comprises: a plurality ofLiDARs (Light Detection And Ranging) installed in multiple directionsand configured to detect an object around the vehicle and sense adistance to the object; and a plurality of cameras installed in multipledirections and configured to sense the surrounding situation of thevehicle as images.
 12. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein thelighting unit comprises: a light source; an external lighting lensinstalled toward the outside of the vehicle; and a beam splitter formedof a transparent material, installed between the light source and theexternal lighting lens, and configured to induce a part of lightirradiated from the light source to the external lighting lens, andinduce the other part of the light to an inside of the vehicle.
 13. Thelighting apparatus of claim 12, wherein the external lighting lenscomprises: an outer lens exposed to the outside of the vehicle; and aninner lens installed between the outer lens and the beam splitter. 14.The lighting apparatus of claim 12, wherein the external lighting lenscomprises a color lens configured to color light having passed throughthe beam splitter in preset color.
 15. The lighting apparatus of claim12, wherein the external lighting lens is disposed facing the lightsource, with the beam splitter interposed therebetween.
 16. The lightingapparatus of claim 12, wherein the beam splitter comprises: a lightingcurtain part formed of a glass material, wherein the light irradiatedfrom the light source is incident on the lighting curtain part; anexterior light output part formed at a portion of the lighting curtainpart, the portion facing the external lighting lens, wherein a part ofthe light incident on the lighting curtain part is outputted through theexterior light output part; and an interior light output part formed ata portion of the lighting curtain part, the portion facing the inside ofthe vehicle, wherein the other part of the light incident on thelighting curtain part is outputted through the interior light outputpart.